N. Attleborough hires first full-time female firefighter

February 19, 2016 5:15 pm

By Ana Bottary

anabottary@yahoo.com

@anabottary

Firefighter Jennifer Skye is North Attleborough’s first full-time female recruit, after passing a rigorous state-mandated physical agility test for all incoming firefighters.

"I love the fact that it is the same exact test no matter who you are. It puts you on an even playing field, so no one can say you took a different test than I did," says Skye.

Skye decided to pursue a career as a firefighter after working closely with them as a paramedic for the past two and a half years. She’s also an active member of the Army National Guard, expecting to become a Second Lieutenant this summer. She says her military background goes hand-in-hand with her current training.

"It is a similar atmosphere and I like that. The discipline, the hard work atmosphere of it," adds Skye.

North Attleborough Chief Ted Joubert says gender does not carry any weight when it comes to choosing eligible candidates.

"Whoever puts on this uniform and whoever takes on this role has to be equally confident. We don’t have room for a sliding scale, everybody has to be ready to go and Jen matched up with the standards we expect of every firefighter," Joubert says.

ABC6 spoke with someone who has been a North Attleborough firefighter for more than 30 years. He says hiring a female will be a culture change but its just a matter of adjustment.

"I think it’s time we kind of expanded our ways, and I think it’s a great thing," says Captain Ron Darling.

Skye hopes her story inspires other women to look at fire fighting as a career. She looks forward to joining a number of other female firefighters across Massachusetts, including three female Chiefs.

"Yeah, it can be scary sometimes. But, that shouldn’t stop you from doing something that you want to do," she says.